Most Recent Reread: The Count of Monte Cristo

The first time I read the Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, was my sophomore year in high school.  Since it has been seven years, I thought I would read it again.  I was reminded of what an incredible book it is, and I gained several new insights this time around.  Dumas is truly a gifted writer.

According to my Bantam Classic copy of the book, "[Dumas'] early education was scanty, but his beautiful handwriting secured him a position in Paris in 1822 with the duc d'Orleans, where he read voraciously and began to write".  Furthermore, I learned that he lived a romantic life, similar to the ones illustrated in his novels.  Dumas fathered two children, both by mistresses, and then he married yet another mistress.  In addition, "his lavish spending and flamboyant habits lead to the construction of his fabulous Château de Monte-Cristo, and in 1851 he fled to Belgium to escape creditors...L'action and l'amore were the two essential things in his life and in his fiction".  Overall, Dumas wrote over 277 literary works, but his remarkable historical novels made him the most widely read of all French Novelists.

After finishing the book and musing about the difference between justice and vengeance, I finally realized the critical difference.  Granted, it is a fine line, but there is a difference.  It was such an epiphany.  Justice is about objectively punishing individuals for the wrongs they have committed.  That is why we have detectives, cops and judges; they are third parties who enforce the law.  When a investigation or case becomes personal, the cop, detective, or judge are removed and replaced.  Vengeance is selfish, and when we try to punish people ourselves, we run the risk of going to far.

[Spoiler!] Monte Cristo exacts his revenge on three main individuals, Morcerf, Danglars and Villefort.  These three men stand for three main things which were stolen from Monte Cristo, Love, Money, and Power respectively.  It can also be argued Monte Cristo punished Caderousse, who stood for greed.  In the book, Monte Cristo feels justified in all his actions concerning Morcerf, Danglars and even Caderousse, but when Villefort's wife and son die and Villefort goes insane, Monte Cristo believes he has done too much.

"'Look, Edmond Dantès!' said Villefort, pointing to the bodies of his wife and son. 'is your vengeance complete now?'  Monte Cristo paled at the horrible sight.  He realized that he had gone beyond the limits of rightful vengeance and that he could no longer say, 'God if for me and with me'.  He rushed over to the boy's body with a feeling of inexpressible anguish..." (485).

Monte Cristo believes he went too far when Villefort loses his wife, son, daughter, in-laws, career, social standing, and sanity.  But by that point it is too late for Monte Cristo to do anything to fix it.

It is interesting to note that Morcerf and Villefort brought their punishments on themselves.  It is true the only reason Monte Cristo exposed their skeletons, was because of what they did to Edmond Dantès decades earlier, which is why it still counts as revenge.  But Morcerf and Villefort did commit the wrongs which were brought forward in the latter part of the book.  Morcerf, or Frernand Mondego killed Ali Pasha, Mondego's benefactor, and then sold Ali Pasha's wife and daughter as slaves.  Mondego was just hoping no one would find out about that, but he committed the wrong.  Monte Cristo did not make him commit that wrong, Monte Cristo just made sure years later, everyone who knew Mondego found out about it.

Villefort buries his living, newborn baby to cover up an affair he was having with a married woman.  That was also brought to light, thanks to the Count of Monte Cristo.  An addition,  Villefort's wife murders her husband's first wife's parents and Villefort's daughter.  Villefort's wife tries to murder Villefort's father, but fails and instead kills his servant.  But this is not Monte Cristo's fault.  Villefort's wife is a murdering lunatic who is trying to make sure her own son gets an inheritance, and then when she finds out she must die, she kills her son.  Monte Cristo should not blame himself for the actions of Villefort's crazy wife.  If Monte Cristo was a detective, it wouldn't be so much revenge as just plain being good at his job.  It's just that Monte Cristo is too involved in all of the cases, so it is hard to stay objective.  To be fair, Monte Cristo is still to blame in some regards.  One example is the death of Caderousse.  Monte Cristo hated Caderousse, so he allowed Caderousse to get stabbed to death.  No objectivity there.

Snow!

Here are some pictures of the snow:

This First Picture is Reginald, our venus fly trap.  I figured I better get a picture of him while he is still green.  My last venus fly trap, Oscar, died prematurely.  

The Snowy outdoors and The Space Needle

Even more snow.  It will be interesting to see how long the snow sticks around for.  

Today it snowed in Seattle!  It's beautiful, but dangerous to drive.  There are a lot of hills.  After church Matt and I stepped outside of our apartment building to appreciate the snow.  We got in a little snowball fight, but it was really gentle because we were both still in church clothes.  Well, a poor older gentleman walked into the crossfire.  I apologized, but he just laughed and said that was the most gentle snowball ever thrown.  As we were walking into our building, a woman stopped us and said we looked like we should be in a romantic movie and she wished she had a camera.  

Recipe of the Week: Tasty Shrimp Chowder

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/low-fat-clam-chowder-recipe/index.html

This shrimp chowder recipe is perfect for a brisk, overcast day, which is about everyday here in Seattle.  It was adapted from a Low-Fat Clam Chowder recipe in the Food Network Magazine.  It was surprisingly tasty and Matt wants me to make it again.


1/2 lb Bornstein Seafoods, Oregon Cooked and Peeled Frozen Shrimp Meat
8 medium sized red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 medium onions, diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
2 cups half-and-half
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika 
1/2 teaspoon Mr. Dash Lemon Pepper seasoning


Put six of the cubed potatoes in a stock pot with 2 cups water.  Add one of the onions, the garlic cloves, the thyme, salt, pepper, parsley, paprika and Lemon Pepper seasoning.  Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat until the potatoes are soft and the onions are transparent.  Use a hand mixer or food processor to purée the potato mixture until smooth.  Put the mixture back into the pot and stir in the half-and-half.  Then add the remaining two potatoes and bring back to a boil. 


While the potatoes are boiling, add the oil to a skillet and cook the remaining onion, celery and shrimp until the bottom of the shrimp is golden brown.  Add the shrimp mixture to the pot and stir throughly.  Simmer until the potato cubes are tender, and the soup is ready to serve.  Feel free to garnish the soup with fresh chives and fresh parsley (or anything else you think would taste good with it).  Enjoy!